2. Stalk snowflakes. Go outside with a sheet of black paper, a good way to see individual shapes. You can even hunt for specific snowflake types. Take alongKen Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes. You can make quick sketches (still quite possible with mittens) in a journal. Enough snowflake stalking and you may I.D. quite a few.

3. Photograph snowflakes. Snowflakes seem to be everywhere, but they’re reluctant to pose for photos. They twirl away in the wind, clump together, or simply melt when you breathe on them. Persistence is the key. Get out there when flakes are falling slowly and there’s little to no wind. If you keep your camera out, you’ll be ready to capture that brief moment when you can see individual flakes on your jacket.

You might want to put a little planning in place to make those shots more likely. We’ve had some success with this method. Take heavy dark blue or black plastic outdoors (we use a garbage can set on its side). Place it in a bright area without shadows and let it chill to air temperature. Then, quickly photograph flakes as they settle on the surface. It’s best if you keep the camera on a tripod and use a telephoto setting. Chances are you’ll get a few good images.

4. Make paper snowflakes.Lacy snowflake cut-outs dangling from thread are classic winter decorations. Plus, they have a lot to teach us about symmetry—and patience. For ideas, check out easy paper snowflakes from coffee filters or more exacting snowflake designs. At my house, we like to skip all design recommendations. Just fold, cut, and unfold. The results are likely to be as unique as, well, a snowflake.

5. Learn snow symbols. There are 100 weather symbols used in meteorology. Snow symbols jump around, starting with number 22, which is pretty much an asterisk followed by a square bracket. Right now out my window, we’re experiencing #72 conditions.

8. Shovel snow. It’s a great workout for the whole family. It’s also a warm act of kindness to surprise a neighbor with a shoveled drive, particularly for folks who are unwell or home with a new baby. For some reason, it’s even more fun to do this sort of favor secretly, so if you know the elderly couple next door won’t be home for a few hours, it’s a great time to dash over there with shovels. (There are plenty of other great ways to volunteer with kids, too.)

9. Build a snow fort. A snowdrift or a nice pile of snow from all of that shoveling is the perfect way to start. If there’s not enough snow, just hollow out a kid-sized space in the snow and anchor a sheet with a few snowballs to make a temporary roof.

13. Conduct the Clean Snow Experiment. You may want to do this before making maple sugar candy or snow ice cream. All you need is a coffee filter and some melted snow to examine what particulates lurk in that white fluff. It may deter you from eating snow and snow-related goodies, it may not.

15. Freeze snowballs. Time to stock up. Get out there and pack lots of nice tight snowballs to save for those long snow-free months. If you have lots of room, let each member of the family freeze and label his or her personal bag of snowballs. Wait patiently. Then on the steamiest, most uncomfortable day of summer, get those snowballs out. You’ll find something to do with them, guaranteed.